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I’ve seen so many articles and comments recently about happiness. It’s interesting. Half of the articles talk about why being happy is the answer to our struggles and the other half talk about why happiness, or the pursuit of happiness, is a bunch of bologna.

So, in my opinion, here’s the deal.

1. Labels don’t help – Happy/Sad. Good/Bad. Right/Wrong. STOP!!!

2. Life is about balance – The tide rolls in. The tide rolls out. “If you don’t become the ocean, you’ll be seasick every day.” – Leonard Cohen

3. Allow yourself to feel – Check in. Take a quick body scan starting at the crown of your head and moving down.

I do believe that happiness can be a choice. I do believe that our thoughts can lead us toward stillness and peace (a.k.a. happiness) or away from it.

SO, overall, these articles, quotes and sharings about happiness, in my opinion, are valuable, because they may help to bring some AWARENESS to those of us that don’t really understand why we don’t feel “happy.”

What does that really mean anyway? Moving on…

With that said, NOONE is going to feel happy all of the time. Haha! Life is about polarity; balance. What goes up, must come down.

Here’s the catch. We have to be OKAY with being whatever we consider the opposite of happy. We have to give ourselves the SPACE to FEEL sad, anxious, lonely, etc, etc.

But it’s so scary! I know!

What if I stay there forever? You won’t.

What if I’m never able to get out of bed again and my tears never stop flowing? You will. And they will!

All I’m saying is that bringing AWARENESS around the idea that we actually play a part in the way we feel by the CHOICES we make is a good first step. After this, TRUST that when you are feeling down and it seems like everyone else is bouncing around happy as can be, that it’s OKAY. Allow yourself to be sad, to be mad, to feel lonely, and then LET IT GO. You choose.

After a couple of years back in the states, I fell even deeper intoI began flirting with the idea (or actually), maybe actively pursuing would be a better way to describe – a professional businesswoman life.

Dressing the part, receiving the promotions & bonuses & of course, buying the house with a 3-car garage & a pool by myself…

So, I made a shift in companies, walking away from a big private office & taking a pay cut aiming to align myself more with my values & passions.

But it followed me. It haunted me. Be better–Make more money–Travel more–Work longer hours–Drink more wine–Feel even less.

Sometimes the circumstances we think will be perfect in every way turn out to be a terrible fit & we move even further out of alignment & away from integration. These experiences are/can be the toughest because our EGO will fight us HARD on this one to actually let go of the life we had planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us.

It is a stripping away. A stripping away of titles, of offices, salaries, benefits. It is a stripping away of social acceptance/approval. It is a stripping away of denial.

And when it’s all peeled away, we are standing with ourselves in an open sea of possibilities. This, my friends, is what true freedom feels like.

This is home & we get to decorate it in any way that suits us. We are the creators of our experiences. We just have to make a choice.

I choose to create. I choose to create a bountiful, abundant & radiant life. I choose to honor myself; to manage myself.

Sometimes I wonder. I wonder what the future will hold & where I’ll decide to grow. But then, I come back to the present moment, allow myself to feel & know that I am exactly where I am supposed to be at this moment.

I take a deep breath to breathe it ALL in & savor this gift (that’s why we call it the present) & let it all out with a great big, satisfied HAAAAAAAA! ❤

Good morning! Happy Sunday! It’s my favorite morning, because my husband and I wake up and watch Super Soul Sunday with Oprah and it “wakes us right on up!” 😉 It really does. We love it!

Speaking of waking up. I wanted to share a recent experience I had while resting on the beach outside of the jungle at Xinalani.

I walked down the beach with my sarong wrapped around my waist and my book, Yoga Wisdom At Work, in hand to find the perfect spot to rest and renew. It was a moment I was taking for myself to just be. Sigh. I found my spot. A place with soft sand on the edge of the trees with flowers and butterflies and oh so many sounds! I layed out my sarong, closed my eyes and and began to settle in. Buzz. Buzz. Buzzz.

What is this? Some sort of sand wasp was buzzing all around my head and getting particularly close. I lay my head back down and try to not be bothered. Buzz. Buzz. Buzzz. Wow! This little wasp was persistent. I got the impression that he wasn’t going to give up.

So, I sat up and took a look around. Oh! What is that small little hole in the ground close by? I wonder if that is where this wasp lives; his home. At that moment, I realized, this wasp was communicating with me! He was telling me I was a little too close to his home and he obviously was asking me politely to find a new spot. Because let’s face it, he could have just landed right on my cheek and given me a sting.

So, I picked up my sarong, and moved it only a few feet away from this small hole in the sand and sat down. The wasp flew over to the hole, crawled in and never bothered me again! It was a beautiful moment that we shared. It was not the first time I have had encounters with nature in this way, but for me, they are always magical. Nature and our world are magical!

I share this story with you only to point out thatthere are signs all around us at every moment of every day, and that nature speaks to us in this way. We are part of this system of nature; part of the whole. We are all connected. One.

After this experience with the wasp, it occurred to me that many people I know would have immediately swatted the wasp, maybe even killed it. Other people I know would have jumped up screaming, scared to death. No judgement. It just is. You see, it’s our “knee-jerk” reaction to things that come in our lives. Our practice of Yoga on the mat, helps us to see these reactions and gives us the space to notice and if we want, choose to react differently; with more awareness, rather than automatically.

The wasp most certainly did not deserve to be killed. He was probably just protecting his queen and maybe soon to be off spring developing inside their home. And the wasp was not even scary. He was politely asking in the only way he knows how, “Could you please step away from my front door? You’re a little too close for comfort, and you are very large!” So, I obliged and we both went on sharing this beautiful space in time with relaxed awareness. Thank you my little friend.